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Tuesday federal headlines - August 13, 2013

Tuesday - 8/13/2013, 10:12am EDT

The Morning Federal Newscast is a daily compilation of the stories you hear Federal
Drive hosts Tom Temin and Emily Kopp discuss throughout the show each day. The
Newscast is designed to give FederalNewsRadio.com users more information about the
stories you hear on the air.

The Merit Systems Protection Board has put furlough protests filed by Defense
Department employees on hold. Two Virginia lawmakers are challenging that
decision. Since the start of federal employee furloughs, the Board had received
more than 30,000 appeal cases. According to GovExec, 96
percent of them have come from DoD. The Board says it's overwhelmed by the flood
of cases. In a letter to Board Chairman Susan Grundmann, Rep. Rob Wittman and Rep.
Frank Wolf say they are concerned about the delay. They worry DoD civilians are
being singled out. Both say they're not urging any particular outcome in the
cases. They just want the MSPB to get on with deciding them. (GovExec)

One small agency has a full slate of confirmed members for the first time in a
decade. Four new members of the National Labor Relations Board have taken the oath of office.
They join Chairman Mark Gaston Pearce, who was recently confirmed for an
additional five-year term. The Senate approved all of them last month after
President Barack Obama replaced two candidates. Republicans had objected to those
nominees. (National Labor Relations Board)

He might be on vacation, but President Barack Obama is rolling out his revised
national security policy piece by
piece. The latest directive was issued from Martha's Vinyard. It directs the
national intelligence director to form a panel of outside experts to review
government intelligence and communications technologies. The panel is one of four
recommendations from Obama after details of NSA surveillance programs were leaked.
The president wants to reform the USA Patriot Act and add another layer of
oversight to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. He also wants the
Justice Department to make public its rationale for collecting data.
(Associated Press)

Federal tax revenues are up sharply and the deficit is shrinking. New figures
from the Treasury Department show that, through July, the government took in
nearly $2.3 trillion. That 10-month total is higher than the last high point,
reached in 2007. It's 14 percent more than the same period last year. Plus, thanks
to sequestration, spending is down a bit. That means the deficit so far in this
fiscal year stands at $600 billion, down from $1 trillion at the same time last
year. The Bipartisan Policy Center estimates the government will hit the debt
ceiling sometime between mid-October and mid-November. (Wall Street Journal)

The Social Security Administration says it is making payments to same-sex
couples following the Supreme Court's decision to strike down a key part of the
Defense of Marriage Act. In a statement, acting Commissioner Carolyn
Colvin says the agency is processing some retirement spouse claims now. It is also
developing more policy and processing instructions. She urges the public to be
patient as the agency tries to get the policy right. Social Security is working
with the Justice Department, which has taken the lead role in implementing the
DOMA decision. (Social Security Administration)

Analysts said the BlackBerry 10 would make or break the company. Now, faced
with lagging sales of its latest smartphone, BlackBerry is considering selling itself. Its board has formed a
special committee to explore "strategic alternatives." It will also look at joint
ventures and partnerships. Once known as "Crack Berries," BlackBerries have lost
ground to iPhones and Android-based devices. But just last week, the Defense
Information Systems Agency said it would deploy the BlackBerry Enterprise Service
10 to support the new smartphones on Defense Department
networks. (Associated Press)

The Defense Department wants to speed up the approval process for smart phones
and tablets. The new goal is to get devices approved for use on DoD networks
within 30 days, Federal Times reports. Right
now, it takes so long that in some cases, by the time approval comes, the device
is no longer being made. Jennifer Carter is the component acquisition executive at
the Defense Information Systems Agency. She says that by working with vendors
early on, DISA can verify the right security features are in place before devices
hit the market. The same process will apply to software apps. Carter says DISA
will issue a request for information in the fall for a contract to provide
personal productivity mobile apps. (Federal Times)

The National Park Service is running out of time to finish removing an
inscription from the Martin Luther King Jr.
Memorial before the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington. The agency
says it may have to stop work before the Aug. 28 event and resume afterwards. Or
it could use its own employees to fix a problem created by the contract workers.
They accidentally stained the memorial Friday. The main contractor doesn't have
insurance to complete the sandblasting with steel pellets, which is how it was
created. The workers had been removing an inaccurate quote from the side of the
statue. (Associated Press)

A former Library of Congress employee accused of posting fake sex ads on
Craigslist has pleaded guilty to stalking and identification fraud. Federal
prosecutors say Kenneth Edward Kuban used a government computer at the library to
post more than 100 ads. In them, he posed as his ex-girlfriend and directed men to
her home with the promise of sex. Kuban entered his plea yesterday at U.S.
District Court in Charlottesville. He also pleaded guilty to violating a
protective order. Kuban could get up to 15 years in prison when sentenced in
November. (Associated Press)

The Air Force Academy has its first female leader. Lt. Gen. Michelle Johnson became
superintendent in a ceremony yesterday. Johnson has long ties to the school. She
is a graduate and former professor. She was the academy's first female cadet wing
commander and first female Rhodes scholar. Johnson downplayed her achievements at
the ceremony. She says the nation is willing to give everyone a chance. Johnson's
most recent assignment was as NATO's deputy chief of staff for operations and
intelligence. (Associated Press)

A fight is brewing over the government's plan to sell Plum Island. That's the
site of a federal animal disease research lab. Congress voted years ago to move
the work to another lab at the University of Kansas. In the latest salvo, the
General Services Administration released an environmental impact statement which
recommended proceeding with the sale. But last month, representatives from
New York and Connecticut introduced legislation to stop it. They want the lab to stay put.
Environmental groups want the island to stay in federal hands and become a nature
preserve. The 843-acre island is located off Long Island. (Yahoo! News)